Gun Values - .356 win

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been shooting for a long time, and do know a bit about guns. But, I don’t know much about their value ($). I have never purchased one. They have all been hand me downs or gifts.

My Father recently gave me a rifle that he bought in the mid ‘80s. A Marlin 336er lever action carbine, pistol grip type stock (not sure what that’s called on a lever action, but it’s not the straight stock) chambered in .356 Winchester. We have about 500 rounds of ammo for it.

The rifle has fired five rounds (I know, and It hurt every time). The factory leather sling still has the bends in it formed by the original shipping box. The barrel fit and finish are all in great shape. The first thing I did was clean it.

However, there is a bit of rust/pitting on the outside of the barrel, you have to look pretty close though.

I was poking around on the net the other night trying to find out some of the ballistics of the gun, and came across something that surprised me. It’s value is near $4000 http://www.pmulcahy.com/lever-action_rifles/us_lever-action_rifles.htm. A basically brand new one like this may be worth much more.

I have no plans on selling it. I would like to know for insurance purposes.

Gun Enthusiasts - I have a couple of questions.

I’ve been looking on line, and found one source that said the value would be $3833. http://www.pmulcahy.com/lever-action_rifles/us_lever-action_rifles.htm. I have found some forums where .356 is a coveted rifle for collectors.

Soooooo. I’m going to probably need to go to a gun forum. I think I need a reliable gun forum where I can ask these questions. I can rely on the SDMB, I know that. There are so many different gun forums out there that a point in the right direction would be appreciated.

Other suggestions are also welcome.

2

Here are some forums to check out:

http://www.thefiringline.com/

http://www.guntalk.com/forum/
http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/
http://www.kimdutoit.com/dr/forum/index.php

Now if you want my personal opinion, I would sell it, as it would appear to only have “collector value” as opposed to “intrinsic value.” After you sell it, use the money to buy this.

3

Heh…

Thanks Crafter, I’ll check out those sites.

The .50 is a bit more than I need though. :slight_smile: I do like the large carbine for bears that come around in the spring. I’ve only had to shoot twice (30/30), just to scare it off. Usually they will run off when I go outside and yell at it.

Usually… When I spot a bear in the yard, I don’t like to go out un-armed.

My .357 does not make me feel quite as safe, though it would probably be effective on smaller bears. I do think that a medium cal lever action cabine is the way to go. The .356 is probably pretty much perfect. I’m curious as to it’s value.

4

Try huntchat.com
Lots of knowlegeable folks there.

5

You might do an occasional search on gunbroker to see if a similar model comes up. If you want your insurance company to cover it you’ll need to get a proper appraisal from someone who knows the rarity. Joe Blow’s gunshop is likely to say $300 as if it were a 30-30

6

Oh, the curved grip is properly called a pistol grip.